Revenge
by Tychsen
Summary: The greasers had just won the rumble between the socs and the greasers, but even though the case should have been justified a couple of socs decided to take out their anger on a specific person. Dally and Johnny are alive and participate in the rumble.
1. Chapter 1

**Authors note: **Hi everyone :) I have had this idea in my head for a while and finally decided to write down. This is my first Fanfiction and English isn't my native language, so bear with me if there is a grammatical or spelling error. If there are, you are welcome to point them out so I won't make the same mistake again ;) Enjoy.

Dally and Johnny are still alive.

**Disclaimer: **_I Do Not Own the Outsiders. If I did I wouldn't be writing a fanfic about it._

**Chapter 1**

The cheers and cries of victory coming from the greasers could be hears mile away. They were throwing their fists in the air, yelling at the socs who was hightailing out of there. The socs lost. They wouldn't be bothering the greasers anymore.

Ponyboy still lay on the ground at the same spot after that soc gave him that final kick to his head. The cheers and shouts still sounded odd to him, like if he was hearing it through a big bubble of some sort. Turning his head he could see the gang, but with a blurry vision. Still he managed to focus on his friends.

Steve was laying a few feet away from them, his hand on his chest, groaning. Soda sat at his side, talking to him with a quiet and calm voice. Soda himself looked mostly unharmed with just an ugly bruise forming on his right cheekbone. Through his haze Pony sighed with relief that his brother wasn't as hurt as he was.

Pony glanced at Dally and Darry, who still had their fists in the air, yelling. They both had a busted lip and nothing else. He didn't expect to find anything else on those two. They were probably the gang's best fighters, Dally because of his skills and brutality, and Darry because of his huge muscles. And his skills of course. But most muscles.

At the sight of Two-Bit and Johnny, Pony sucked in a sharp breath. They both had bleeding and twisted knuckles and long open gashes at the side of their heads. Still they were cheering and grinning.

Pony tried to lift his throbbing head, which only made his vision more blurry and the pain even worse. Not only was his head hurting. His chest felt like it had been run over by a half dozen trucks.

He immediately laid his head back down, eyes shut and gritting his teeth. He was panting hard though it made his chest feel like it was on fire.

Darry looked around after Pony and spotted him a few feet away lying on the ground. His face showed concern as he quickly ran to Pony's side, expecting the worst.

"Pony? Little buddy can you hear me?"

Pony saw Darrys face hovering over his, his eyes filled with worry. Pony felt Darrys huge hand on his sore cheek as the rest of the gang showed up behind Darry.

"Wha-? Yeah I'm fine Dar. Just, just help me up would you?"

Sodapop appeared on his other side and took Pony's one hand as Darry took the other. Together they pulled their younger brother to his feet. He winced and groaned as his chest and head got lifted from the ground. The whole world was spinning around him and he felt dizzy. He clung on to his brothers as he came to his feet.

"Whoa there kid. Your face looks like some kid has been messing with paint on it!" Two-bit said, laughing his goofy grin.

"Two-bit not now" Darry said irritated. Sodapop shot Two-bit a sharp look. They all knew he was just trying to lighten up the mood but the way the kid's face looked they didn't want to make fun about it even though Two-bit was right. The one side of Pony's face had an angry purple color and bluish yellow on the other side. Soda and Darry felt sick just looking at it. Even Steve felt bad for the kid.

"Come on y'all, let's get to the Curtis' house" Dally said. He stood next to Johnny who looked a bit stunned at what just had happened. He had been in rumbles before, but no matter how many times he gets into them, they still left him stunned. Especially this rumble because he felt it was because of him that the rumble had happened in the first place. If he hadn't killed that soc who tried to drown Pony that terrible night, there wouldn't have been declared a rumble between the socs and the greasers. But of course it was mostly the socs fault since it was them who tried to drown Pony, and Johnny only acted in self-defense, but Johnny still felt that he was responsible.

They all walked down the road to the Curtis' house. Soda was supporting Steve who had his arm around Soda's shoulders and wincing at every step because of his probably broken ribs. Pony first had his arm around Darrys shoulders but after too many times where he had to stop to keep his vision from spinning too much, making him feeling sick, or was stumbling too much, Darry carefully hooked one arm under Pony's legs and lifted him. The pain and difficulties his youngest brother had just by walking was too much for Darry to look at.

Johnny walked next to Dally and Two-bit, and Soda and Steve behind the other two Curtis brothers. A few minutes later the Curtis house came into view. The weak porch lamb glowed outside next to the door, waiting for them to get inside. They walked up the porch and opened the door.

The living room looked exactly like it did when they left it. Two empty beer bottles were left on the coffee table, couch pillows and more bottles lay scattered around the floor. One of them wasn't even empty and was leaking beer, leaving a dark spot.

"Dibs on the couch" Steve said, heading for the couch. Soda eased him down on it carefully.

Darry eased Pony in the old recliner, since Steve had the couch. The rest of the gang seated themselves on the floor. Darry, as he always had done since their parents died, took charge and went over to check on Steve.

"Soda, get the first aid kit"

They watched Soda as he turned around and soon disappeared in the dark hall. Dally went over and turned on the TV while Johnny turned on the radio. None of them followed the random show that was on the TV, but kept it on to help the radio to block the occasional groans that came from some of the guys.

Darry was checking on Steve, his shirt up as Darry gently prodded at his angry blue marks around his ribs, making him wince hard and sometimes yelp. They rarely head Steve giving in to pain like that so his ribs were most likely broken. Soda then came back with the first aid kit, handing it to his older brother.

"Thanks little buddy"

Pony partly watched Darry fixing Steve, as his head was still tingling and couldn't fully catch up with everything going on around him. He laid his hurting head back, trying to get some rest. He was feeling incredibly tired. Just as he was almost nodding off, Darry was suddenly crouched in front of him shaking his shoulder.

"Hey Pone, open your eyes. Don't fall asleep little buddy you might have a concussion." He shook a bit harder as Pony didn't open his eyes immediately.

"Relax Dar I'm awake. Stop shaking you are making me dizzy". Or dizzier than I already feel, Pony thought, but he didn't want to say that out loud. His head was throbbing something awful and he asked for his beloved aspirins. The kid was eating those pills as if they were tic tac's.

"I don't know Pone; these things might just make you sleepier. Let me check your head first to see how bad it is."

Soda got up next to Darry to see what damage that good for nothing soc had done on his little brother. Soda didn't remember much after seeing Pony taking that final kick, other than he was suddenly on the soc, beating the daylight out of him.

Two-bit glanced at the kid's pale face behind the coloring and thought back to earlier that day. Back to when he had offered Pony a ride home at the high school parking lot. The kid has seemed a bit off ever since he and Johnny saved those kids from the church and Two-bit had won the fight in the morning way to easy. He looked thinner and paler as if he haven't eaten and slept enough. Two-bit had asked him if something was wrong but Pony simply brushed him off, saying he was fine. That was the kid's standard answer when he felt sick or if something bothered him. Two-bit let it be though he knew something was clearly off with the kid.

Looking at him now he knew he should have done something. And he started to blame himself for the condition Pony was in.

Darry put a patch on the cut above Pony's left eyebrow and handed him a frozen steak from the freezer to put on his swollen chin.

As Darry was about to stand up from his seated position, the door suddenly slammed open with a loud bang, almost slamming into Steve's head as he lay on the couch. They all turned around to see who their unexpected visitors were.

Their first guess was that the Sheppards or the Brumlys had come to join their party which was definitely not what they were doing at the time.

"What the..?" Steve asked surprised as he got a good look at their unexpected guests.

At the Curtis's door stood no less than five socs, one of them, a blond haired soc, standing in front with a gun visible for everybody in the room. They were all muddied all over and bruised, clearly indicating that they had participated in the rumble.

oOoOoOoOoOo

The gang watched stunned and unable to say anything as the socs wandered fully into the room, the gun held in the blond soc's hand, threatening to shoot if anybody dared to make a move toward them. Especially Dally looked like he was just seconds from tackling the soc to the floor.

"What do you want?" Darry asked with a warning voice, flexing his muscles. They were too close to Pony now, their direction headed at him.

"Now just stay where you are, alright? We are here to take something from you as you guys took from us"

The socs were now in front of Pony and he looked at them with big eyes as realization hit him. But why didn't they go for Johnny? It was him who killed the soc who tried to drown Pony. Before he came to a conclusion, the soc grabbed him by the hair and dragged his exhausted body out of the couch.

"Ouch hey! let go!" Pony trashed around trying to get free, all exhaustion gone replaced by pure adrenalin. His hair got a powerful yank and let out a yelp but didn't give up the fight. The soc was stronger than him plus one of the other socs helped holding the trashing boy down.

Soda watched with rising anger while the socs dragged his baby brothers injured body out of the old recliner and couldn't help bursting out: "Let my brother go you bastards!" He knew the outburst would probably make the situation worse but nobody touched his little brother without having to deal with him first.

"Now this will teach you a lesson you for no good greaser", the soc snarled dangerously ignoring Sodas outburst.

The gang watched in horror as the blond soc swung the gun and pointed it at the side Pony's head, just above his ear.

"No please, don't shoot my brother" Darry pleaded, desperate to somehow help his baby brother away from the barrel of the gun and smash all of the socs' heads in for doing this to Pony. He had also realized what the socs intended to do and why and he hoped the others had taken the hint a well.

While the socs were busy keeping the boy still and keeping an eye of the gang in front of them, they were completely unaware of Two-bit and Johnny standing behind them. As confident the socs seemed to be in having everything and everybody under control, they hadn't noticed the two boys sitting on the floor out of sight by both the door and where they were standing at the moment. Now Two-bit and Johnny were standing, careful not to be seen. Only the gang had noticed their sudden emergence.

Pony lay still on the floor face down and careful not to move as he felt the barrel of the gun against the back of his head. Tremors of fear started to course through his exhausted body as he anticipated the soc to pull the trigger at any moment. He had no doubt that the soc intended to do what he had threatened. He hadn't walked all the way to the damn Curtis house, with all the bruises they had earned from the rumble without completing what they all had come for.

Darry took his eyes off of Pony for a few seconds to look at his other brother on his left side. The expression he found in his little brothers eyes made his heart ache even more. How dared those do this to the only family he had left, he thought while willing Two-bit and Johnny to make the first move quick.

After a few careful looks at each other, Two-bit and Johnny slowly went to stand at either side of the recliner, planning to take out the socs standing in front of them.

While they would take those out, Soda and Dally would hopefully figure out to take out the two other socs. Darry wanted to do a thing or two to the blond boy holding Pony down, fist clutched in his hair painfully tight. He had his hands in his pockets to keep them from shaking with anger and fear. Angry at himself for not locking the door failing in keeping his brother safe, and scared of what might happen in mere seconds right in front of him because of his mistake. How could he had let this happen?

While Two-bit and Johnny made the first move to take the two socs down many things happened at once. Darry had the blond soc down in a second the gun forced out of his hand and it slid away toward the far wall.

But Dally and Soda's reaction weren't fast enough as one of their socs made a move toward the gun.

"Take him down!" Darry hollered eying the running soc.

Pony got up off the floor and as fast as he could with his injured head and bruised body, ran toward the soc.

The fifth soc ran to assist his friend but got held back by Pony's second oldest brother who had a fierce grip around his neck and muttered a few curse words.

Even though Pony was probably one of the fastest track runners in Tulsa he couldn't beat the soc in the race to get the pistol. Within a second the soc had the gun in hand. He spun around and before anyone could even blink he pulled the trigger.

A loud bang rang out before the room grew deathly quiet.

oOoOoOoOoOo

**A/N: **Should I keep it or trash it? :)


	2. Chapter 2

**Author's note:** Chapter two is finally up! And yeah, I know there might be errors or missing words but as English isn't my native language it can be hard for me to spot the mistakes.

And to those who are worried, I can't assure you if this is a dead fic or not :D you'll have to find out.

**Disclaimer: **_I do not own the outsiders._

**Chapter 2**

Everybody stood shocked. Every eye were fixed at what had happened right in front of them, staring wide eyed at the smoking gun and the battered and bruised boy falling to the floor.

"NOO!" both Soda and Darry yelled staring at their beloved baby brother lying motionless on the floor blood slowly pooling around his right shoulder.

"No no no, please!" Soda and Darry were desperate to get to their probably dying baby brother. They made a move toward him only to be held back by a single indicating move from the gun.

"Now this isn't a pleasant sight is it? Watching a close friend dying right in front of you?" The soc nudged Pony with his foot which made the boy groan. That made the greasers want to cry in utter relief. The youngest Curtis was still alive and conscious.

"You son of a bitch! Bob deserved to die after what that bastard did to Pony, my little brother has done nothing wr.." Soda instantly shut his mouth after a simple yet effective motion of the gun.

The blond soc was about to fire back at the greaser who had dared to speak to him like that, when they all heard a sirens blaring in the distance. That was when had realized something that made him want to smack his own head into the wall for his own stupidity. They had all been so wrapped up in their need to revenge Bob's death that they had failed to notice, or give the Curtis brothers neighbors a second thought. They all cursed and one of them muttered something about 'I said it was a stupid idea'.

The suddenly occurred sirens were at the moment the most welcoming sound for the greasers. They all felt unbelievably thankful for the elderly couple who had probably called the police after hearing the gunshot. Mr. and Mrs Winchester had been one of the Curtis' parent's good friends, and they had been genuinely about the boys when their parents had died. Once in a while Mrs Winchester would come to visit to make sure that the boys were alright and holding their own.

"Run, let's get the hell out of here!" one of the socs exclaimed and made a dash towards the door but got stopped by Steve who had momentarily left the couch to stop the socs from escaping. They had to pay for this and god help them when Steve got his hands on the blond one. Even though he and Pony didn't quite get along, he was still Soda's kid brother and nobody shoot his best friend's beloved kid brother without having to deal with him too.

As Steve managed to push the first soc aside, the second replaced him and violently pushed against the couch. He gasped and squeezed his eyes shut as the fall agitated his broken ribs.

Dally, Two-bit, Johnny and Darry ran after the socs while the rest of them stayed back. They only reached the fence when the police cruisers arrived, sirens blaring in the night.

oOoOoOoOoOo

The second the four greasers had stormed after the socs Soda hurried to his brother's side and dropped to his knees. The puddle of blood by his baby brother's shoulder was now alarmingly huge and was still increasing.

Soda's hands hovered over his brother, afraid of coursing him more damage and make him hurt more than he already was. He would at the moment give anything to take his brother's pain from him; he just couldn't bear the thought of Pony in so much pain.

He gently grabbed Pony by his uninjured shoulder and turned him over. The sight made him want to throw up. His brother was still covered in numerous of bruises but under those he was pale as a sheet. If it wasn't for the small rise and fall of his chest you might think he was dead.

"Pony?" he asked and shook him carefully, to see if he was still conscious or not.

When no answer came he got even more worried than he already was. "We need to get him the hospital now!" He exclaimed to a wide eyes Johnny, kneeling on the floor at the other side of their injured gang member. Johnny couldn't help but feel incredibly guilty for what had just happened. It should be him laying there, probably bleeding to death. Pony hadn't done anything wrong.

"Th-this is all my fault" Johnny stammered in a quiet voice.

Soda briefly took his eyes off Pony to glance at Johnny's guilt ridden face. "Listen Johnny Cake, this is anything but you're fault. I know what just happened has something to do with what happened in the park and none of us have seen this coming. None of us could have prevented what just happened, you understand?"

Johnny nodded, his eyes not as wide as before.

Soda quickly pulled off his shirt, balled it up and cradled it tight against his bay brother's shoulder. While Soda kept the cloth pressed on Pony's injured shoulder he willed the ambulance which had probably arrived along with the police, to hurry up.

"Hang in there Pone" he whispered, willing the tears not to fall just yet.

Just then the greasers, who had run after the socs, came back in with three paramedics in tow, one of them carrying a stretcher. They quickly got into business, gently pushing the older brother aside while assessing the younger one. While they fussed around Pony by checking his pulse and vitals, Darry and the others moved to Soda's side so they wouldn't stand in the paramedics' way. Darry had an arm wrapped around Soda's shoulders to offer his shaking younger brother strength. They all needed it at the moment.

"We are ready to take him to the hospital now, he has lost too much blood and is in a big risk of getting a cardiac arrest or going into shock if he doesn't receive treatment anytime soon" one of the paramedics announced, breaking the eerie silence. "Only one of you can stay with him, the rest of you have to follow behind".

"You go with him, we will follow in the car" Darry said while giving Soda's shoulder a light squeeze.

Soda was about to follow the paramedics when he noticed that he was bare-chested. But he refused to take the balled up shirt back on, not when it was soaked with Pony's blood. He didn't trust his stomach on that point.

As he was about to go get a clean shirt he got one tossed in his direction. He muttered his thanks and hurried back to his baby brother's side.

"Come on, Dally and Johnny you'll drive with me while the rest of you follow in Two-bit's car. Let's hurry up" Darry hurried to get his keys and got out to start the car while Two-bit helped Steve back up from the couch. He had lain in the same position since the soc pushed him aside, and had surveyed the scene unable to get to his best friend's side for support. Pony was Soda's entire world and he knew how shaken up he might have been after seeing the brat being shut. Hell even he felt sorry for their youngest gang member.

When Steve finally got to his feet they all headed out to the waiting cars. They all got in and drove off, following close behind the flashing ambulance.

oOoOoOoOoOo

**A/N:** Reviews keep me going.


	3. Chapter 3

**Author's note: **I present you chapter 3! Enjoy.  
And thank you for all those reviews by the way, I really appreciate them!

**Disclaimer: **_I do not own the outsiders._

**Chapter 3**

It wasn't more than twenty minutes later till they arrived at the hospital. The ride to the hospital had been quiet and gloomy; nobody had said a word as their thoughts had been on their youngest gang member lying in the ambulance riding in front of them. They had all seen how pale Pony looked before the paramedics carried him out of the house, and now they all started to doubt if he would survive or not.

They all climbed out of the cars and slammed the doors, before running after the gurney which was quickly getting wheeled inside. Soda ran right beside it, holding Pony's hand and whispering reassuring words near his ear, while stroking his now semi conscious brother's hair, his skin cold and clammy to the touch.

The gang caught up with the gurney and Darry took Pony's other hand in his. They followed the gurney which was expertly maneuvered through the corridors, while nurses began to hover around the new patient, checking vitals and shouting words the boys didn't understand. A few seconds later they reached the double doors that separated the waiting room from the surgery room.

"I'm sorry but you can't go any further, you have to wait here until we have performed the surgery, and" the paramedic thought for a moment, "Ponyboy, has to be transferred to the ICU before you can go see him".

Soda looked up at the paramedic with glistening eyes. "How long till we can see him again"

"I can't promise you anything son, this can probably take a couple of hours since the patient is in a critical condition and the bulled is still in his shoulder as there is no exit wound" the paramedic stated as he was about to wheel Pony through the double doors.

Before he wheeled him inside Darry took Pony's hand and whispered in his ears "You got to fight this kiddo but you won't have to do it alone, we will help you through this, we all will little buddy" his voice shook a little when he spoke and quickly gave his baby brother a kiss on the forehead as several the paramedics started to make impatient sounds. They had to operate soon if they were going to save him.

The six boys quietly sat down and suited themselves for the long wait. The most of them could use medical treatment themselves but that didn't seem to matter at the moment. All their thoughts were on the gang member, laying only a few feet away from them, behind the big double doors. A nurse came back, clipboard in hand and asked Darry to fill out the forms as he was Pony's legal guardian. He filled them out quickly and handed it back to the beautiful nurse.

Dally had an arm firmly wrapped around Johnny who had started to tremble. He still blamed himself even though the only people who should be blamed were the socs who did this to Pony. Even after hearing Soda's reassuring words, he couldn't help but feel that this was his entire fault.

Steve glanced nervously at his best friend and saw to his horror that he was crying. Everything that had happened over the past hour had really shaken him up and he simply couldn't keep the tears at bay any longer and Steve couldn't help but feel sympathy for his best friend. The kid was almost Soda's entire world.

"He'll be alright, you'll see" he tried to assure Soda even though he doubted it himself.

"He j-just looked so p-pale all the w-way h-here" he said, his voice started wavering as he soon began to sob. In the ambulance on their way to the hospital, he couldn't stop staring at his brother's chest and the heart monitor, as if he should stop breathing or if his heart failed. "I don't know h-how to l-live without him" he put his head in his hands as the sobbing increased, his shoulders shaking as he tried to stop crying.

"It's ok buddy, just let it out" Steve offered feeling a bit awkward as he wasn't the comforting or caring kind of person and he didn't understand the pain his best friend was in at the moment.

Darry, who was sitting on the other side of Soda, had a hard time holding his composure as well, as the events of the night began to assault his mind. It took a lot for him to cry, but this had been too much for him and seeing Soda break didn't help matters. If he locked the damned door as normal people do, they wouldn't be in this situation.

They all sat there, quiet and impatiently waiting for news about Pony. Even Two-bit sat uncharacteristically quiet, not making any attempts to flirt with the passing nurses as he normally did. Last time he was in the hospital, after an unfair fight against two socs, he had flirted with every single nurse whenever he had the opportunity. Not that many of the nurses had seemed pleased by flattery, he was a greaser after all, a greaser who had just been in a fight. But now he was in a slight bend over position, staring intensely at his hands, trying not to think too much of the highly probable outcome of the shooting incident.

Soda had finally stopped crying and asked, "What happened to those bastards anyway?"

"They all got arrested little buddy, and thank God for that. If one of them had run off after what they just did, I would personally have done a thing or two to him that would probably get me thrown in jail too" Darry said in a dangerous voice. They all silently thanked the higher powers that it didn't happen; Darry getting thrown in jail was the last thing the Curtis' needed at the moment.

"The police surrounded them just in time, and it seemed that they had been given enough information at the moment since they didn't ask any questions nor had one of us following with them to the police station" Darry added.

"You wait and see, they will be here any moment to make us testify our part of the story". Leave it to Steve to be the pessimist.

"We will deal with that when the time comes, right now we need to focus on Pony".

They all nodded at that.

oOoOoOoOoOo

When they finally got their patient settled on the operation table, hooking him to various machines and IV's to keep him sedated, Dr. Scott immediately began the procedure of cleaning the small wound that can do amazingly lot of damage, considered it's size. As he finished cleaning the wound, and was about to make the tweezers ready to remove the bullet, one of the nurses tapped his shoulder.

"Dr. Scott, I'm afraid that the patient has lost more blood than we have in store right now. We have been running low on his blood type for a week now, so somebody has to donate it directly to him"

The young doctor thought for a moment before voicing his idea. "What about his friends sitting in the waiting room. If I remember correct two of them are his brothers. There are a higher chance that those two have the same blood type as our patient here than the other boys" He knew that it was their only option but he didn't the idea of having one brother giving blood to his younger brother to save his life. He had a younger brother himself and come to think about it he had come to like these boys. They aren't as bad as people normally say they are.

"I'll set the up the donation procedure right away" nurse Abby said. There was no time to lose.

Abby picked up the forms the broad muscular guy had signed earlier to find out the name of his brothers. With clipboard in hand she once again walked down the corridor to the waiting room where the boys were still waiting.

When she walked out the double doors and approached the greasers, to her surprise all of them stood up and quickly walked up to her, asking how Pony was doing, expecting the worst.

"He's doing fine at the moment but our problem is that we are running low on his blood type, we have only one pint left and I'm afraid that it's not enough" as she spoke the look on the boys faces changed from hopeful to grim. His condition might me pretty serious since one pint of blood wasn't enough to replace what he had lost.

"Then how will you get more blood?" Soda asked, obviously not well aware of medical stuff.

"According to these forms he has two brothers named Darry Curtis and Sodapop Curtis, and Darry is legal guardian of both Sodapop and Ponyboy, is that correct?"

"Yes it is" Darry spoke, while the gang nodded.

"If I have your permission I would like to quickly take a blood sample to check if one of you has the same blood type".

"You don't even have to ask for permission" Soda inquired as he and Darry followed her into a sterilized room. There was nothing they wouldn't do when it came to save Pony's life. Nothing. The nurse Abby made a hand gesture towards a chair beside a small table, and Darry sat down as the first. When he had the blood sample taken he stood up to let Soda sit in it. When he sat down Darry placed a comporting hand on his younger brother's shoulder, well aware of his fear for needles. Soda muttered a quiet "thanks" and placed his own hand on top of Darry's calloused one and gave it a gentle squeeze. He really hated needles.

After a few seconds the procedure was finally over and Soda heaved a sigh of relief as Abby finally pulled the needle out. The two brothers waited in the small lab room as Abby ran off to perform the tests. Seeing the sad look on Soda's face Darry squeezed his shoulder firmly. "He'll be alright little buddy, you'll see. Pony is a fighter and has always been, he won't give up on us now" Darry whispered reassuringly even though he doubted his own words.

"Yeah I know" he didn't quite have the energy to say much more and he still had a defeated look on his face. Darry sighed and was about to say something more when he was interrupted by Abby who came in to the room just then.

"I have the test results and fortunately it turns out that one of you matches his blood type" her gaze turned to the ridiculously beautiful greaser still sitting in the chair. His eyes went wide. "And it's you, Sodapop".

He silently swore under his breath so that Abby wouldn't hear him and walked over to the bed that she was about to set up. When she was done she padded it, indicating him to lie down. When he was settled he took a deep breath and waited anxiously for what to come. Abby cleaned the area under his elbow, "Now this will sting a little" she said as she prepared the needle.

Seeing his little brother's distress Darry moved to Soda's side and took his hand in his but resisted the urge to card the other through his blond hair. He probably didn't want to look that scared in front of the cute nurse.

As she inserted the needle Soda couldn't hold back a slight hiss. But he soon forgot the pain when he thought of his baby brother lying just down the corridor, in much worse pain than him. If he could he would trade places with him in a heartbeat.

When the bag was finally filled, she pulled out the needle and wrapped his arm in a bandana and told them to head back to the waiting room. When they reentered the waiting room they found the boys slumped in the exact same position as when they had left, except that some of them were smoking. Feeling the familiar craving for a cigarette as well Soda pulled one out of his own pack of cigarettes and lit it up.

"Any news about Pony" he asked.

"Nope, none at all. How did it go, did one of you have the same blood type?" Two-bit asked.

"Yeah I had" Soda said. They sat back and resumed their wait for any news about their youngest gang member while silently praying that everything will turn out alright so they soon could go on with their lives. It wouldn't be long before they could do that right?

**A/N: **Tell me what you think.


	4. Chapter 4

**Author's note: **Thank you everybody for all those wonderful reviews, I really appreciate them!  
Here's chapter 4, enjoy!

**Disclaimer: **_I do not own the outsiders._

**Chapter 4**

An hour and almost a pack of cigarettes later, the doctor who had performed the surgery on Pony, finally came out from the double doors, having finished the surgery. The boys abruptly stood up when they saw Pony's surgeon. They all felt that they were tightly strung like a rubber band, ready to snap if it was being stretched any further.

The doctor walked up to them with a neutral look on his face so it was impossible to know how Pony was doing. And that only made the gang even more upset.

"So h-how is he doing" Darry asked with a slight stutter, nervous to hear the answer. He put a callused hand on Soda's shoulder as he was now stiff as a plank. He probably tried to look strong in front of the doctor and compose himself for what the doctor's going to say.

Johnny started to visibly shaking and felt as if his knees were going to buckle any second. He didn't think he could forgive himself if Pony hadn't survived the surgery. Dally noticed Johnny's shaking and carefully wrapped an arm around his shaking shoulders, he clearly knew what was going on in his head just by the look of his wide eyes.

"According to the x-rays, the bullet managed to tear through a lot of muscle tissue and get half buried in his collarbone. We managed to get it out without preventing further damage. You can visit him now but he probably won't be awake, and if he does wake up he will be to out of it to know what is going on. Our biggest concern right now is since he has lost a big amount of blood and have had received blood that it could develop sepsis which in itself is can be very dangerous"

"Sepsis?" Soda asked in a small voice.

"Blood poisoning" the doctor answered with a sad smile. "There's a very low risk for a healthy boy like him to develop sepsis, but it isn't excluded. We will have him transferred into his own room when we have made sure he's out of the risk. It will also take time for the damaged muscles to fully heal so he won't be able to use his shoulder or lift heavy things, for a couple weeks. Other than the shoulder he also had several bruised ribs, a minor concussion and several bruises. And I can see that he's not the only one who has been given bruises. I assume that it was the boys who shot him who did it?"

The boys nodded and enthusiastically. It wouldn't help them at all if he knew about the rumble that had found place only three hours earlier; as a matter of fact it would probably make the case a whole lot worse in their favor. After the doctor's words they had enough on their plates without having the state on their backs.

The doctor nodded and wrote something on his chart. "Now if you'll follow me"

The gang followed the doctor through the double doors and down the corridors. The atmosphere in the ICU was gloomy and melancholy as they dragged their tired feet forward, one in front of the other.

A few seconds later the doctor rounded a corner and walked, with the muddy teenagers in tow, into a room where numerous beds lay on either side, only shielded by curtains. Groans and cries of pain could be heard from the patients they bypassed. Soda got a sick feeling in the pit of his stomach when he thought of his baby brother being one of these patients. Before he could think that thought through they came to a halt at Pony's bed side. The sight made Darry want to hurl.

On the bed lay his baby brother, a deathly shade of pale which attested to just how much blood he had lost, almost as white as the sheets he was laying on. You could barely see the bruises that had been way too noticeable only a few hours earlier. White gauze was taped to his injured shoulder and an IV ran from his both his hands to a bag of fluid hanging on a tripod along with a bag which contained a dark red fluid. It was obvious that the kid was sedated; normally he would rarely lay still when at sleep but now only the thing that indicated he was still alive was the small rise and fall of his chest, and the mist that clouded the oxygen mask that was covering his mouth and nose.

Dr. Scott moved to check on his IV's. "If something happens just press this button" he pointed at a red square button behind Pony's bed. "I'll be back in about thirty minutes; I've got other patients to attend" the doctor spoke before leaving the gang alone with Ponyboy.

When the doctor left, they all circled around the bed. Darry and Soda stood on either side, closest to their little brother. They both crouched down and took his hands in their own, careful not to disturb the IV tubes.

"Aw Pone" Darry sighed and reached up to card his fingers through his baby brother's hair. It was rare for him to show this kind of affection but it scared him to see his beloved baby brother lying so vulnerable on the bed. "You just rest kiddo. We will be here when you wake up"

Soda glanced at Darry in awe. He couldn't remember the last time Darry had shown affection like that toward their brother. Soda held his brothers hand gently in his while stroking the back of his hand, careful with the tube.

"Damn he doesn't look good" Two-bit muttered. He thought back to when he had offered the kid a ride; when he said he was fine even though he looked a bit shaky and cheeks slightly flushed. If his fever affected his current condition he doubted he could forgive himself for not revealing it.

Johnny looked at his best friend with sad eyes "Yea, he does"

He glanced at Dally who stood at his side. The grim look on his face and blazing eyes revealed the emotions he tried to hide. The dangerous look and clenched fists revealed his urge to get his hand on the socs. God help them if he ever did get his hands on them.

They all understood Dal's anger and felt the same urge to strangle every one of them, but they knew that there was nothing to do about it and an angry Dally was definitely not what they needed at the moment. All they could do was hope that those sons of bitches got locked up and the key thrown away, and that their youngest member would soon turn out ok after taking a bullet to his shoulder. The kid was tough after all.

They stood like that, not moving from the spot when a nurse came to check on Pony. She checked his temperature, the IV's and his pulse.

"Is something wrong?" Soda couldn't help but ask.

"He's doing as fine as it should be expected after what he had gone through. He has a slight temperature though probably due to all the damage his body had received over the past few hours. But if it climbs to dangerous levels, then there's a good reason to be concerned. I'll be back within another thirty minutes and if anything happens meanwhile, just press the call button" she added with a sweet smile, too sweet in  
comparison of the place they were in. On the other side, without being able to smile under these circumstances the job might get too unbearable.

The nurse left and the boys resumed their protective position around the bed, not much space for a total six muscular teenagers, but none of them seemed to care.

It seemed like they had been standing there for hours when it had barely been an hour of anxious waiting for those blue green eyes to look at them again. The waiting almost got too much for Soda as it got harder and harder for him to hold back the salty tears than threatened to fall. Looking down on his and his brother's folded hands he tried to get a grip on himself. There was no way he was going to cry again in front of his friends. He was a greaser after all, but still, seeing the person he loved almost the most of all people had really affected him hard.

Before he knew of it, tears were once again leaking down his face, leaving wet passages.

"You have to get better kiddo, I just *sniff* can't stand seeing you like this" he brushed a thumb gently over his cheek, but without any indication that Pony had heard him.

None of them had anything to do or say to make Soda feel any better. They felt just as miserable and lost as him.

oOoOoOoOoOo

**A/N: **Please review and tell me what you think


	5. Chapter 5

**Author's note: **I'm really sorry for this chapter being delayed! My teachers have been bombing us with homework and tests since I have two finals coming up before Christmas!  
But now it's finally here, chapter 5. Enjoy!

**Disclaimer: **_I do not own the outsiders_

**Chapter 5**

After several hours of waiting beside the bed, only leaving for coffee or a bathroom break, the sun started to peek through the hospital windows and there Pony still made no sign of waking up. He had been lying in the same position through the entire night and it was so not like him. Normally he would toss and turn in his sleep, rarely lying completely still and often woke Soda up with his tossing. But now he hadn't moved an inch, not even turned his head.

When they noticed the sun rays shining through the small hospital windows, Steve, Two-bit and Dally voluntarily walked down to the cafeteria to buy them all some breakfast. None of them had been eating since the small dinner and a couple of beers they had had before the rumble. They didn't have much appetite, but they knew it wouldn't help matters if they got emitted to the hospital themselves, because they had neglected to take care of themselves.

Steve, Two-bit and Dally came back, a tray with sandwiches in Steve's hands since he had two uninjured hands. They gratefully took a sandwich and placed the tray on the small table beside the hospital bed. They ate though they couldn't get much down.

"Still no sign?" Two-bit asked though he knew the answer. He was about to go crazy of the persistent silence around Ponyboy's bed, surrounded by two curtains offering them the privacy they needed at the moment.

After a few bites of the sandwiches, a low moan escaped from Pony's mouth.

Darry and Soda turned their heads so fast it was a wonder that their necks didn't snap. Relieve washed over the boys and they all leaned closer to the bed. Soda gently stroked his brother's bruised chin, begging for him to open his eyes.

"Come on Pone, open your eyes. You have been playing sleeping beauty for long enough; it's about time to see the world on the other side of those lids. Please Pony"

Darry took his other hand, stroking his blond hair while also begging him to open his eyes.

Pony's eyes began rolling fiercely as he struggled to open his way to heavy eyelids. The voices started out as faint noises sounding too far away, but as he struggled to wake up the voices came closer and soon he seemed to recognize the voices. When the numbness slowly left his body he became aware of somebody holdings his hands and stroking his hair. He also felt something around his mouth and nose, tickling and irritating so he tried to shake it off.

Pony's head slowly tossed from side to side and they realized what he tried to do. "Leave it on Pone; you need it to get better"

He stopped tossing his head which was a sign that he could hear them. "That's it little buddy, open those green eyes of yours" Darry said, desperate to see his baby brother awake.

Pony then turned his head towards the voice and opened his eyes to slits but immediately closed them again as the light of the rays of sun made his head pound that much more and made him feel disoriented and nauseous.

"D'd?" he muttered softly.

When they heard Pony's words they thought they heard wrong, he had spoken so softly that they could easily have heard wrong. Right?

Pony then opened his eyes and looked around before he focused on Darry with glassy eyes "W-where's M'm 'n' Dad?" he asked in a small voice.

The words hit them hard and they started to get genuinely concerned. Not knowing what to say, Soda placed a hand on Pony's forehead to check if he was having a temperature. "He feels kinda hot"

Fearing that it was sepsis kicking in, Darry pushed the red call button. Pony's glassy eyes kept looking at him. "Th-they're at work? Why are you all here? Is it time for school?" He abruptly sat up in the bed and was about to swing his feet off the bed when the IV's, oxygen mask and his two older brothers stopped him. He fell back on the bed with a sharp gasp as the movements jostled his injured shoulder. "What happened to my shoulder? It hurts" he said in a tired and confused voice.

Soda winced at his brother's dismay and they momentarily glanced at each other; they all knew that he was clearly out of it, probably due to the concussion or fever, or both.

"You got shot Pone, remember?" Soda said softly, expecting his reaction, while running a hand through Pony's hair and noticing how the fever has spiked in just a few seconds.

Pony was about to answer when a nurse finally came "I see that he's finally awake" she said with a bit too sweet smile. "What seems to be the problem?"

Darry took charge "he's running a fever and he's a bit out of it, he can't remember what happened or why he is here"

"For how long has he been running a fever?" she asked while she pulled out a thermometer and gently placed it in the patient's ear.

"He didn't seem to have a fever before he woke up" Soda answered. He was about to get concerned about what could be wrong with his little brother. The thermometer beeped and the nurse pulled it out, reading the small screen. "100.3" she announced. The boys' eyes widened. Two-bit quickly ran to one of the small bathrooms on the other side of the room, to get a cold washcloth. He returned and gently placed the cloth on Pony's forehead as the kid kept glancing around with his confused and fevered eyes. He then thought back to the day before, where the kid had looked like he had a fever. The thought brought a shaft of guilt in the pitch of his stomach. It could very well be his fault that the kid was in so bad condition right now.

The nurse examined her patient's head for a moment. "It was said that he had been hit hard in the head, so assume that the reason that he is so out of it is a combination of the fever and the concussion. I'll do a quick blood test since it could be sepsis that has caused the fever" she spoke as she prepared a syringe to draw some blood. Pony took no notice of the thin needle penetrating his skin under the elbow. Soon he fell back asleep, exhaustion and confusion taking its toll on his tired and battered body.

"I'll be back with the test results in a few minutes" she spoke before retreating Pony's bedside and walked hastily out of the large recovery room.

The atmosphere around the bed once again became quiet and tense, the sight of Pony's fevered state made them that much more worried. Reluctant to leave his baby brother's bedside, Darry had to make a quick phone call. He probably had to take a few days off, depending on for how long Pony will be sick though he knew he couldn't take more than a couple of days or he wouldn't be able to pay the bills. As if they didn't have enough to worry about at the moment.

"I'll be right back, I have to call my boss" he said and retreated. Steve head snapped up when he heard Darry's words, suddenly remembering his own job at the DX gas station. Fortunately he and Soda had the day off that day, but he thought it might be a good idea to head home soon anyhow. There was nothing he could do except comforting his best friend, but he knew he couldn't hang around much longer as he needed a shower quite bad and some much needed sleep. They all did. But there was no way that the protective older Curtis brothers would leave the boy's sight unless it's complete necessary.

He sighed and said "I should probably head home now guys, I better get a shower and some rest. I hope that, um… the kid will get better soon" he normally never had feelings for the little brat, but with everything that had happened to him he couldn't help but have a bit sympathy for him, especially for his best friend. The brat almost meant the whole world for Soda.

Soda nodded. "Thanks for being here for so long, I really appreciate it and Pony too" he said and cracked a smile that barely reached his eyes. He turned his attention back to his shivering and sweating little brother. His face wasn't as pale and white as it was a few minutes earlier. Now he had his color back which only made the appalling bruises visible again, and his cheeks were flushed with fever.

He was in a restless sleep, murmuring words they couldn't hear or distinguish. Johnny, Dally and Two-bit followed Steve, after a few words to both Soda and Pony, also wishing for him to get well soon. The four bruised, tired, dirty and smelly greasers left the room, leaving Soda and Pony for themselves.

Soda tightened his grip on his little brother's hand and stoked his hand through the shiny blond hair that had probably been washed after the surgery. The thought of when the soc had taken the final kick to Pony's head made the anger and rage he had felt return with full force. How much he would have given to beat that soc all over again.

"They won't get away with this, I swear they're gonna pay for what they have done to you" despite his efforts he couldn't stop the tear from sliding down his chin before landing on the white blanket that kept pony warm.

He quickly wiped another tear away, bracing himself. Crying wouldn't help matters at the moment. He couldn't let his beloved little brother see that he was crying if he woke up again.

oOoOoOoOoOo

**A/N: **I know this chapter is a bit short, but I have to update this story as soon as possible, so you won't have to wait any longer. Please review and tell me what you think! 


End file.
